East Midlands · Non-metropolitan district

East Lindsey

2026/27 view

East Lindsey · ONS E07000137

Financial position as at 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

View sources

COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

Who runs the council and its current position

44/ 100

COUNCILMETRICS FINANCIAL HEALTH SCORE

Under pressure

Compared only with non-metropolitan district councils using central government returns.

164 councils in peer group Rank 98 of 164 Medium confidence 2024/25 outturn · 2026/27 Q1 debt How this is calculated

Reserves cover11

Debt burden86

Debt direction37

YEAR-ON-YEAR CONTEXT Change from the previous reported period Each measure uses its own official reporting timetable.

Net debt £-62.63m 2026/27 Q1 vs 2025/26 Q4

−£801.0k 1.3%

Service expenditure £36.75m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

+£4.72m 14.7%

Unallocated reserves £1.82m 2024/25 vs 2023/24

£0.00 0.0%

FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL TREND

How this council's finances have changed

Official annual outturn. Each line uses its own scale so direction remains easy to read.

Through 2024/25

Service expenditure £36.75m

57.0%

Net revenue expenditure £29.81m

24.9%

Council Tax requirement £11.61m

22.0%

Unallocated reserves £1.82m

0.0%

COUNCILMETRICS COMMUNITY SCORE Share your experience 0 of 25 responses collected before results are published

Score this council

Political controlNot yet recordedAdministration not identified

Council leaderNot identifiedParty not identified

Resident population145,1832024 estimate

Latest net debt£-62.63m2026/27 Q1 quarter end

WASTE & RECYCLING

What happens to household waste?

Official Defra measures for East Lindsey, with like-for-like comparison against collection authorities.

2024/25

39.2%recycled

Household recycling rate

Recycling rate fell

1.8 percentage points vs 2023/24

121 of 196 peer authorities Peer median 42.1%

Residual waste433.3 kgper household+2.4 kg year on year

Waste collected357.6 kgper resident−4.9 kg year on year

Household waste51,922tonnes collected20,370 tonnes recycled

WHERE HOUSEHOLD WASTE WENT

Recycled versus residual waste

20,370 t recycled, composted or reused 31,552 t not recycled

RECYCLING RATE TREND

10 years of official data

39.2%

2015/162024/25

EDUCATION

Schools and education

Schools, pupil numbers and latest education outcomes across East Lindsey.

2024/25

SCHOOLS & PUPILS

Education at a glance

Explore schools

77 Open schools

16,934 Pupils

20,287 School places

83.5% Capacity utilisation

ATTAINMENT & OUTCOMES

Key Stage 4

Published outcomes for pupils living in East Lindsey.

Attainment 8

42.1

East Midlands 45.0

England 46.1

4.0 points below England

English & maths grade 5+

36.3%

East Midlands 43.1%

England 45.4%

9.1 percentage points below England

EBacc entry

31.3%

East Midlands 36.9%

England 40.5%

9.2 percentage points below England

PROGRESS

Progress 8

-0.16

Latest published Progress 8 score, 2023/24.

A score of 0 represents the national average.

TREND

Attainment 8 over time

44.6 18/19

46.2 19/20

47.5 20/21

44.9 21/22

43.5 22/23

42.0 23/24

42.1 24/25

Education context

East Lindsey's latest Key Stage 4 outcomes are below both East Midlands and England benchmarks across all three headline measures.

Department for Education · Key Stage 4 performance · Pupil residency

HOUSING & AFFORDABILITY

Housing costs and local earnings

House prices and affordability for East Lindsey, based on the earnings of local residents.

2025

Median house price

£220,000

+ 23.9% over five years

Median resident earnings

£31,516

+ 19.8% over five years

House price to earnings

6.98×

Higher from 6.75× five years ago

PRIVATE RENTING

Average monthly private rent

Typical private rental cost across all property types in East Lindsey.

£699 / month

+ 6.5% in the last year

July 2026

East Lindsey

£699

+ 6.5%

East Midlands

£918

+ 3.6%

England

£1,451

+ 3.8%

Compared with East Midlands £219 less per month

Compared with England £752 less per month

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Housing affordability

Median house price as a multiple of median resident earnings. Lower is more affordable.

East Lindsey

6.98×

East Midlands

6.91×

England

7.64×

Compared with East Midlands Less affordable

Compared with England More affordable

Source: Office for National Statistics · Housing affordability in England and Wales · House prices year ending September · Residence-based earnings

PLANNING & HOUSING DELIVERY

Is development moving through the system?

Quarterly planning decisions and the government's latest three-year Housing Delivery Test.

2026 Q1

Applications received185this quarter−36 vs 2025 Q4

Applications decided173this quarter−10 vs 2025 Q4

Outstanding applications—at quarter end

96.0%approved

Overall approval rate166 granted7 refused+5.2 pts vs previous quarter

DECISION TIMELINESS

Decisions made within time

95.4%

Rank 93 of 294 reporting authoritiesNational median 92.5%

3.6 percentage points higher than 2025 Q4

APPLICATION MIX

Performance by development type

TypeDecisionsApprovedIn time Major15100.0%93.3% Minor6191.8%96.7% Other9797.9%94.9%

QUARTERLY FLOW

Applications through the system

Last 8 quarters

HOUSING DELIVERY TEST

Homes delivered against requirement

129%

Required1,335homes over three years

Delivered1,717homes over three years

100% requirement

No consequenceHDT 2025 government assessment

CRIME & POLICING

Police-recorded crime

Latest police-recorded crime figures for East Lindsey, excluding fraud.

Year ending Mar 2026

Recorded offences 10,314 Total police-recorded crime excluding fraud

Crime rate 71.0 offences per 1,000 residents

Annual change + 2.7% compared with the previous year

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

Recorded crime rate

Offences per 1,000 residents

East Lindsey Your council

71.0 + 2.7%

East Midlands Region

76.6 − 1.1%

England National

83.4 − 1.5%

East Lindsey has a recorded crime rate 7.3% below East Midlands. It is 14.9% below the England rate.

OFFENCE PROFILE

Recorded crime by category

Lincolnshire

Violence 4,591

31.6 per 1,000 + 1.0%

Theft 2,755

19.0 per 1,000 + 3.5%

Public order 685

4.7 per 1,000 + 11.7%

Criminal damage 1,060

7.3 per 1,000 + 4.2%

Shoplifting 1,042

7.2 per 1,000 + 22.6%

Vehicle offences 335

2.3 per 1,000 − 24.5%

Burglary 470

3.2 per 1,000 − 8.6%

Drug offences 212

1.5 per 1,000 − 15.9%

ONS / Home Office · Police-recorded crime · Community Safety Partnership data

SCHOOLS & OFSTED

Schools and inspection outcomes

Open schools, pupil numbers and the latest published Ofsted inspection position for East Lindsey.

77 schools

Open schools 77

Pupils 16,934

School places 20,287

Capacity used 83.5%

Primary 58 schools

8,563 pupils

Secondary 12 schools

7,558 pupils

Other / specialist 7 schools

813 pupils

CURRENT POSITION

Inspection coverage

Latest Ofsted management information

Renewed framework 4

5.2% of open schools

Previous full framework 44

57.1% of open schools

Ungraded inspection 26

33.8% of open schools

No Ofsted record 3

3.9% of open schools

RENEWED FRAMEWORK

Latest inspection standards

4 schools assessed

Achievement 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Urgent improvement 1

Attendance & behaviour 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Urgent improvement 1

Curriculum & teaching 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Needs attention 1

Inclusion 4 assessed

Expected standard 4

Leadership & governance 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Needs attention 1

Personal development 4 assessed

Expected standard 3

Strong standard 1

Safeguarding 4 assessed

Met 4

PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK

Legacy Ofsted ratings

These ratings apply only to schools whose latest full inspection remains under the previous Ofsted framework. Schools assessed under the renewed framework are shown separately above.

Outstanding 1

Good 26

Requires improvement 4

Not judged 13

LOCAL SCHOOLS

School directory

View all schools

School	Phase	Pupils	Capacity	Latest Ofsted position
Alford Primary School URN 120440 · LN13 9BJ	Primary	304	420	Ungraded inspection
Beacon Primary Academy URN 139702 · PE25 2RN	Primary	206	210	Ungraded inspection
Binbrook CofE Primary School URN 120565 · LN8 6DU	Primary	73	105	Good
Bucknall Primary School URN 120443 · LN10 5DT	Primary	38	—	Ungraded inspection
Chapel St Leonards Primary School URN 145489 · PE24 5LS	Primary	107	210	Good
Coningsby St Michael's Church of England Primary School URN 145527 · LN4 4SJ	Primary	249	420	Good
East Wold Church of England Primary School URN 120597 · LN11 8LD	Primary	78	116	Requires improvement
Eastfield Infants and Nursery Academy URN 146505 · LN11 8DQ	Primary	204	348	Good

School information: Get Information about Schools (GIAS). Inspection information: Ofsted monthly management information. Inspection frameworks differ over time, so renewed-framework standards and previous overall effectiveness grades are shown separately.

Published expenditure£0.00No spending file imported

Revenue budget£0.00Not imported

Reported overspend£0.00Not imported outturn

Contracts00 active

Identified suppliers0Normalised entities

PEOPLE AND PLACE

Population snapshot

View full People profile

Population 145,183 2024

East Midlands region 5,063,164

Five-year population change

+3,144 residents ↑ 2.2%

East Lindsey +2.2%

East Midlands +4.5%

England +4.3%

Growth context

East Lindsey's population grew over five years. Its change was 2.3 percentage points below the East Midlands and 2.0 percentage points below England.

2019–2024 ONS mid-year estimates

Population estimates and labour-market measures from ONS/Nomis.Official profile

BENEFITS & FINANCIAL PRESSURE

How is Universal Credit changing in East Lindsey?

People receiving Universal Credit and how the caseload has changed over the latest 24 months.

DWP · May 2026

PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT 19,881 13.7% of the 2024 resident population May 2026

CHANGE IN 12 MONTHS +8.2% +1,500 people

LATEST MONTHLY CHANGE +0.2% +33 since April 2026

LOCAL CONTEXT

Universal Credit recipients as a share of population

Comparison using 2024 resident population estimates.

May 2026

East Lindsey LOCAL AUTHORITY

13.7%

East Midlands REGION

11.8%

England COUNTRY

12.3%

Percentage of the resident population receiving Universal Credit. This is not an unemployment rate.

24-MONTH TREND

People receiving Universal Credit

Monthly caseload recorded on the DWP Universal Credit system.

June 2024 May 2026

19,881 18,046 16,211

June 2024 May 2026

What does this measure?

Universal Credit provides financial support to people who are on a low income or out of work. These figures count people receiving Universal Credit, not households and not the number of people who are unemployed.

DWP Stat-Xplore

HOUSING LICENSING

HMOs and property licensing

Coverage not assessedNational HMO explorer

Licensed HMOsAwaiting registerOnly licensed properties will be counted

Identifiable HMO expenditureNot identifiableNot separately described in published transactions

Inspection and enforcement dataAwaiting dataNo activity source imported yet

Coverage note

A licensed HMO register has not yet been located for this council. CouncilMetrics does not estimate HMO expenditure from broad housing or social-care descriptions.

FINANCE

How this council raises and spends money

Comparable official outturn for 2024/25, reported to central government.

MHCLG official outturn

Total service expenditure

£36.75m 2024/25 actual outturn

Net revenue expenditure

£29.81m 2024/25 actual outturn

Council Tax requirement

£11.61m 2024/25 actual outturn

Unallocated reserves

£1.82m 2024/25 actual outturn

Service expenditure per resident £253

Median for councils of the same type £166 52.9% above peer median

2024/25 SERVICE SPENDING

Where the money was spent

Net current expenditure after service income.

Actual outturn

Environmental and regulatory services Gross £17.64m · Income £3.10m

£14.54m

Central services Gross £19.59m · Income £11.76m

£7.83m

Culture and related services Gross £9.92m · Income £3.17m

£6.75m

Planning and development Gross £7.31m · Income £2.49m

£4.82m

Housing Gross £9.59m · Income £5.05m

£4.53m

Highways and transport Gross £1.68m · Income £3.41m

£-1.73m

CORE FUNDING

Selected funding sources

Major financing lines in the central return.

Council Tax requirement£11.61m

Retained business rates£19.79m

Revenue Support Grant£1.40m

UNALLOCATED RESERVES

Financial buffer

General unallocated reserves during the year.

Opening £1.82m

Closing £1.82m

£0.00 increase during 2024/25

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government · Revenue Outturn RS and RSX · values shown in pounds Official dataset

BORROWING AND INVESTMENTS

Balance-sheet position

A point-in-time view of debt and liquid investments at the end of 2026/27 Q1.

MHCLG quarterly return

Outstanding borrowing

£0.00 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Investments and cash

£62.63m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt

£-62.63m 2026/27 Q1 quarter end

Net debt per resident

£-431 Per resident using latest population

This council's net debt per resident £-431

Median for non-metropolitan district councils £95 553.1% lower than the peer median

QUARTERLY TREND

Borrowing, investments and net debt

2020/21 Q1 to 2026/27 Q1.

£801.0k quarterly reduction

2020/21 Q12021/22 Q32023/24 Q12024/25 Q32026/27 Q1

Latest quarterly movement −£801.0k −1.3%

Change across the series −£1.13m Net debt since 2020/21 Q1

What changed?

Net debt reduced during the latest quarter as the balance between borrowing and investments improved.

MHCLG Borrowing and Investment live table · 2026/27 Q1 · values shown in pounds Official dataset

COUNCIL TAX & COLLECTION

How much council tax remains unpaid?

Council tax collection, outstanding arrears and write-offs reported to central government.

MHCLG 2025/26

Outstanding arrears

£18.47m Total outstanding at financial year-end

Collection rate

95.51% Collected against the in-year debit

Council tax written off

£368,000 Written off during the financial year

Council tax collected

£104.35m Receipts relating to the financial year

FIVE-YEAR TREND

How has unpaid council tax changed?

Outstanding arrears at each financial year-end.

2021/22–2025/26

OUTSTANDING ARREARS 2025/26

£18.47m

CHANGE SINCE 2021/22

+ 92.9%

+ £8.90m

ENGLAND CHANGE

+49.5%

Figures represent total outstanding council tax balances, including arrears carried forward from earlier years. Changes in council boundaries can affect historical comparisons.

OUTSTANDING ARREARS

Where does the unpaid council tax come from?

Breakdown of outstanding balances at the end of 2025/26.

£18.47m outstanding

CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR £5.06m

27.4% of outstanding arrears

EARLIER FINANCIAL YEARS £13.41m

72.6% of outstanding arrears

Current-year arrears Earlier-years arrears

Earlier-years arrears represent unpaid council tax carried forward from previous financial years. These figures do not identify individual households or establish whether balances are recoverable.

COLLECTION PERFORMANCE

How does this council compare?

England 2025/26

In-year collection rate 95.51%

England average: 95.60% · 0.09 percentage points below England

Outstanding arrears include unpaid balances from earlier financial years and are not the same as council tax uncollected during 2025/26. Monetary values are rounded for display. Official MHCLG source

SPENDING

Published directorate expenditure

Explore all 0 records

CONTRACTS

Largest contracts

Explore all 0 contracts

Contract	Supplier	Status	End date	Original value

SUPPLIERS

Largest supplier exposure

Dated transactions

Supplier	Payments	Published expenditure

PROVENANCE

Source documents

39 imported

Document	Dataset	Period	Status	Official source
Housing Delivery Test 2025 results — East Lindsey	mhclg housing delivery test	HDT 2025–HDT 2025	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application decisions (PS2) — East Lindsey	mhclg planning ps2	1979 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG district planning application statistics (PS1) — East Lindsey	mhclg planning ps1	1996 Q2–2026 Q1	imported	Open
Defra local authority waste statistics — East Lindsey District Council	defra local authority waste	2010/11–2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2023/24 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2023/24 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2023/24	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2022/23 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2022/23 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2022/23	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2021/22 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2021/22 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2021/22	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2020/21 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2020/21 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2020/21	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2025/26 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2025/26 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2024/25 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2024/25 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2023/24 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2023/24 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2022/23 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2022/23 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2021/22 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2021/22 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q4 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q4	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q3 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q3	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q2 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q2	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2020/21 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2020/21 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Borrowing and Investment 2026/27 Q1 — East Lindsey	mhclg borrowing investment	2026/27 Q1	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Service Summary 2024/25 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rsx	2024/25	imported	Open
MHCLG Revenue Outturn Summary 2024/25 — East Lindsey	mhclg revenue outturn rs	2024/25	imported	Open

How to read these figures and the Financial Health Score

Budget summaries and financial positions retain the reporting year and assurance status of their original source. Draft or unaudited values are labelled separately from audited outturn figures. The Financial Health Score uses reserves cover, net debt per resident, liquidity and quarterly debt direction from central MHCLG returns. Each component is converted to a percentile among councils of the same authority type; available components are weighted 35%, 30%, 20% and 15% respectively. A score is published only when at least three components covering 65% of the weighting are available. It is a comparative financial indicator, not an assessment of service quality or political performance.